Joking
by JuliTina
Summary: Heero finds Duo again after the war. Temper tantrums ensue. 1x2


The fact that I'm writing GW fanfiction again is really scaring me. Cliche fic for the fun of it.

…

He didn't know how it had come to this. After years of searching, attempts and leads to dead ends, until he had almost given up with the frustration of it, it had come to this. Reduced to staring at an unobtrusive door to a small, rundown flat. The door was green, brown woodwork clearly shown beneath paint that was beginning to peel, a brass letter flap that matched the dull gleam of two numbers.

_02_. They hung by the side of the door, almost arrogant; fully aware of the irony. Heero snorted suddenly, eyeing the numbers with barely concealed distaste. It _had_ to be the right place.

With three precise knocks, he knocked and stood there waiting, wondering what he should say. It had been three years, and everyone had disappeared to live their own lives, seeking anonymity that they desperately needed. With the media hounding their every move, it had been agreed that they would live their lives for a while and just eventually get back sooner or later. Well, it had happened eventually, only no one had ever heard from Duo ever again.

He knocked on the door again. It had occurred to him that Duo didn't want to be found, but it had been…so long, and Heero had wanted his friend back again. It had taken him only a month to admit that to himself, and he figured that now the war was over, he could afford to be ridiculously selfish.

Gradually, shuffling and a fair amount of cursing was heard, Heero only making out some words like 'fucking salesmen' and 'shotgun'. Heero hoped sincerely that it was a joke, or at most, a half hearted one. Eventually, a key was heard in the lock, irritated noises of bolts being removed with more force than necessary, and the peeling green door was opened, revealing Duo Maxwell ready to greet with a big 'fuck you'.

They stared at each other.

And then the door was slammed shut, directly onto Heero's foot.

He tried not to wince.

Against his better judgement, he had immediately placed a foot in between the door and doorframe, just in time to catch it before it shut. The door bounced open, and Heero stared very carefully at Duo in front of him, drinking in every detail. He seemed taller than three years ago, leaner too, but still all attitude as he placed furious hands on slim hips, eyes accusing.

"Get your foot outa my doorway." He said, letting some street slang slip into his speech. Heero recognised it as a habit of anger, or extreme irritation. So wisely, he decided to solve things the Yuy way. He folded his arms, and scowled at him.

The door came slamming back onto his foot.

"I broke three arms to find you where you are now. Don't make me break more to find you again." Heero said, in perfect monotone.

It caught Duo off guard for a moment, leaving him slightly wide eyed.

Heero cringed.

"Plus, when I get back, Une's going to _kill_ me."

There was a long pause.

And suddenly, Duo broke into laughter, almost hysterically, as he held his stomach, braid swinging over one shoulder. Heero chose to take this as a good sign, so he took a step forward and entered the flat, squashing himself in the narrow corridor to take another good look at Duo. He didn't look unhealthy, and he didn't seem to be any different, but his eyes told another story. He looked haggard, worn down.

"Living room's here." Duo pointed. "Sit down. I'll go make some tea."

"No need," Heero said. Duo just shrugged in return, and followed Heero into his living room that doubled as his sleeping quarters. Consequently, it wasn't in the best shape it could have been; beer cans and pieces of paper littering the floor. Heero stepped over a particularly large mound of rubbish, half horrified, and half glad that Duo was still the slob he remembered.

They sat down on the couch, slightly awkward.

"What do you want?" Duo finally asked, breaking the silence. "You've been trying to track me down for a year and a half now."

"You knew?" Heero asked back on impulse, feeling rather stupid when Duo only spared him a contemptuous look. "At first we waited for you to get back into contact with us, but when we heard nothing we wondered if anything had happened to you."

"We?" Duo asked, rather bitterly. Heero's eyes snapped up to look at him.

"We all missed you. Surely you knew that."

"Of course I did." He snapped. And then after another awkward pause, he sighed explosively, rubbing his forehead in irritation. Irritated with Heero or himself, Heero couldn't guess. "So you all missed me then. You want me back." He reiterated.

"Yes."

"…Does Relena?" Instantly, Heero stared at Duo, the bland expression on his face, and things became very clear.

"You disappeared for more than a year because you were _jealous_?"

Instantly, Duo jumped to his feet furiously, going over to a corner cupboard and wrenching the door open, pulling out a small duffel bag.

"Don't you _dare_ make this sound like some petty grudge." He hissed between his teeth, stuffing a few clothes and necessities into his bag. "You don't even know how many times I tried to convince myself that it was a mistake. But then the papers and the coverage…"

To say that the media had been troublesome was an understatement. Distantly, Heero vowed to find whoever had written that ridiculous article about him and Relena, and make them pay.

"You believed those pack of lies?" He also didn't know whether to be hurt or not.

There was another of those awkward pauses, and suddenly, Duo exploded.

"Yes." He said. "It had been in the papers for _weeks_, and Relena wouldn't deny it, and you were avoiding the papers like the damned plague and I didn't know what to think." He stopped packing just for a moment, as he pointed accusing fingers at Heero. "You cut off every single damned communication line you had so how was I supposed to know if they were lies?"

"…I was avoiding the reporters." Heero said quietly, and if it hadn't been the wrong time for it, it could have also been tinged with a tiny bit of sulkiness too. Duo glared at him. Seeing that the situation wasn't going to change, Heero sighed.

"I admit it was partly my fault…but what about Hilde?"

"You _know _we're best friends."

"Do I?"

They just stared at each other for a while, the familiar purple eyes; anger meeting stubbornness and then fading back to old fashioned resent.

"Go die." Duo muttered, scowling.

"So you'll stop trying to run away?"

"Die." He repeated, but the furious packing stopped, so Duo could fold his arms across his chest. "And if you were anyone else, I'd be trying to kill you already." He muttered, almost as an afterthought.

Heero smiled, and Duo stared at him again, shaking his head in disbelief.

"You have changed so fucking much."

Heero stood up, and made his way to Duo on the floor, sitting down next to him.

"Tell you a secret." He whispered. "I haven't been this happy since I last saw you."

"No shit."

There was another silence. This time, more comfortable.

"Hey Heero."

"Hm?"

"Who squealed about me being here?" Duo asked. "Because if it's only a broken arm, I'm going to do much worse to them."

Heero had to look at Duo's face again to tell that he was joking.

end


End file.
